Bible & Christianity › The apostles & the New Testament
Paul the Apostle
c. AD 5 – c. 64/67; converted c. 34 on the road to Damascus (Acts 9)· Person· People
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
Paul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who persecuted the first Christians, became the movement's greatest missionary and its earliest surviving writer.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
Born Saul in Tarsus, in today's Turkey, a Jew with Roman citizenship, he studied in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3) and harassed Jesus' followers. About AD 34, Acts 9 says, a blinding light and Jesus' voice stopped him on the road to Damascus. From about AD 46 he founded churches in Asia Minor and Greece, wrote them letters, and argued that Gentiles need not become Jews. Arrested in Jerusalem, he was sent to Rome for trial.
Why it matters
He turned a Jewish sect into a faith for all peoples. His letters, especially on grace and faith, shaped Augustine, Luther and almost all later Christian theology.
Life, legacy and sources
Seven letters (Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon) are accepted by nearly all scholars as his: the oldest Christian writings. A Delphi inscription naming Gallio (Acts 18:12) dates his Corinth stay to about AD 51.
Questions and debates
Did Paul faithfully spread Jesus' message or reshape it into something new? Scholars still argue this, and how well Acts' portrait matches his own letters.
Inside this (3)
Connections (4)
▸Paul the Apostle set out, after his conversion, on Paul's missionary journeysMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
After his conversion near Damascus about AD 34, Paul spent years in Arabia, Damascus and his home region around Tarsus. Barnabas brought him to the church at Antioch, which sent the two out about AD 46. Paul believed Christ had called him to be apostle to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:15–16).
When and where
Antioch in Syria was his base; the journeys, about AD 46–57, covered Cyprus, Galatia, Macedonia, Greece and Asia, by one estimate some 10,000 miles.
How do we know?
Paul's own letters (Galatians 1–2) give his years after conversion; Acts 13–20 gives the journeys. The two overlap strongly though details differ.
Questions and debates
Acts and Galatians differ on how soon he met the Jerusalem apostles (Galatians says after three years), and his 'hidden years' in Arabia and Tarsus are almost unknown.
▸Paul the Apostle argued for Gentiles at Council of Jerusalem: Gentiles welcomedMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
When some Jewish believers insisted Gentile converts be circumcised, Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to defend their mission. Paul brought Titus, an uncircumcised Greek Christian, as a test case (Galatians 2:3). The leaders agreed that Paul should go to the Gentiles and Peter to the Jews (Galatians 2:7–9).
When and where
Jerusalem, about AD 49; Paul came as a delegate of the church at Antioch. Described in Acts 15:1–29 and Galatians 2:1–10.
How do we know?
Paul's own first-hand account in Galatians, written within a few years, confirms the meeting and his part in it.
Questions and debates
Galatians says Paul went 'in response to a revelation' and met leaders privately; Acts shows a public assembly. Whether these are one visit, and whether Paul accepted the food rules, is debated.
▸Paul the Apostle wrote Letters of Paul (epistles)Historical record
The connection
Paul kept in touch with distant churches by letter, carried by coworkers like Timothy and Phoebe. He wrote to solve problems: the Galatians turning to circumcision, factions at Corinth, Thessalonians grieving their dead. Even critics admitted 'his letters are weighty and strong' (2 Corinthians 10:10).
When and where
Written about AD 50–60 from Corinth, Ephesus and prison, to churches in Greece, Asia Minor, Galatia and Rome.
Historical evidence
Seven letters are almost universally accepted as his on grounds of style, vocabulary and fit with his life; 2 Peter 3:15–16 already knows a collection of them.
Questions and debates
Six letters bearing his name are disputed. Hebrews, long credited to him in the East, almost certainly is not his. Some letters, like 2 Corinthians, may combine several notes.
▸Paul the Apostle was executed in Rome, tradition says, during Roman persecution of ChristiansMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Acts ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome for two years, preaching freely while awaiting trial before the emperor (28:30–31). Tradition holds that he was beheaded, the death reserved for a Roman citizen, under Nero, around the same time as Peter.
When and where
Rome, about AD 64–67; tradition places his execution at Tre Fontane and his tomb on the road to Ostia, now the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls.
How do we know?
No record from the time. 1 Clement (about AD 96) mentions his witness 'before rulers', and Eusebius (about 325) dates his death to Nero's reign.
Questions and debates
Was Paul freed and did he reach Spain before dying, as 1 Clement's 'limits of the west' may hint? A sarcophagus under his basilica has bones dated to the 1st or 2nd century.